


tedious melodies and the heart of another

by acrobatics



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, M/M, honestly what is this, nothing too bad but just a general warning, suicide mentions and violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-29
Updated: 2014-11-18
Packaged: 2018-02-10 21:43:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2041308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acrobatics/pseuds/acrobatics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>the world has secrets, and sasuke doesn't ever know what's going on.</p><p>(sasuke and sakura are best friends, naruto is a genius, and everyone else is just trying to figure out how any of this came to be.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> second project!!
> 
> well. i'm planning on finishing this. by the end of the year. whoops
> 
> this is a little bit shorter than i wanted it to be (only 1,200 words but it's just the prologue) also this is slightly ridiculous but everything i do is
> 
> i hope you enjoy!!

in Sasuke’s defense, everything that had happened was Sakura’s fault.

it had started the night she had stomped into his room, interrupting a particularly interesting part of a book he was reading. he still remembers the words on the page, and he’s not sure if they were memorable or if it was the words that had come out of Sakura’s mouth that made the moment almost surreal.

_nothing in the universe is definite. perspective, reality, time. but in a sense, aren’t they all the same thing? isn’t everything, with it’s balances and careful interconnections, all the same thing?_

she had been rambling, she had probably been doing so since someone had let her into the house and asked her how her day had gone. her hands seemed to be shaking, silently, with the heel of her boots making a familiar noise (and he wonders how fear and excitement could take the form of something so quiet), he remembers that quite well. she had paced across his room, back and forth, back and forth. usually, she would pause somewhere in her dialogue, for a breath of air, or for Sasuke’s opinion on the subject. (Sasuke never cared enough to have much of an opinion.)

it was one of _those_ things. he wasn’t sure what that “thing” was, but it was probably the first time that Sakura had spoken so fast that he hadn’t heard a word of it.

she stopped abruptly, and took a deep breath in. she settled on the edge of Sasuke’s bed, her legs tucked underneath her thighs, her fingers digging into the dark blue duvet, slowly leaning into Sasuke’s personal space. he closed his book, and put it on the wooden nightstand.

“so, what do you think?” she sounded almost hopeful, and Sasuke didn’t have a clue as to why. her eyes seemed brighter, like the sky had fallen, and the brightest of any star had fallen into her eyes.

he maintained his blank expression. “explain,” he had said, _”slowly.”_ he emphasized the last word, dragging it out.

Sakura looked almost offended, but then smiled and sighed.

“you know how my mother and father go to those _absolutely_ boring galas,” she paused again, waiting for Sasuke to nod. “and they take me along with them _every time_.” she waved her arms around in the air, her theatrics obviously, to Sasuke, supposed to be taken very seriously.

there was a pause yet again, although it was not awkward. their silences were not awkward. they had been friends for too long to feel that sort of silly tension.

“I met the person of my _dreams_ , Sasuke. I met them, and now I cannot think about anything else.” her voice got lighter, quieter. it was something he had never heard from her, the normally loud and overdramatic girl he had the privilege to call his closest friend.

“that’s interesting.” he said it in an equally quiet voice. he knew that she would understand his comment.

a giant smile erupted across Sakura’s face, but she did not speak.

“tell me about them.” Sasuke attempted a smile, but it seemed like it was more lopsided than he would have liked, considering Sakura’s impossibly wide grin got even wider.

“oh, where do I start! I barely even know her, and she just-” Sakura closed her eyes and breathed in,”she just entrances me.”

“her name is Hinata, and I am sure you’ve met her, because well, I just have a feeling.” Sakura giggles.

“Hinata Hyuga?” Sasuke doesn’t let the surprise show on his face. Hinata isn’t a very common name, to his knowledge, and of course Sakura would accidentally catch the attention of the sole heir of one of the largest corporations in the world, next to Uchiha Industries and HARUNO, and another corporation Sasuke couldn’t be bothered with learning it’s name.

“have you seen their eyes? Hinata’s specifically. it’s as if the heavens bestowed them personally on her, they’re the color of dreams and love and beauty.” he almost rolled his eyes.

“Sakura, it’s 2 in the morning, why don’t yo-”

“are you interrupting me?” Sakura squinted her eyes and leaned into his face. “don’t do that right now! don’t do it!” she stuck a finger into his face, almost touching his nose.

he couldn’t stop himself from laughing, nor could he protect himself from Sakura beating him with his pillows.

she ended up going on and on about Hinata, her eyes, her hair, the colors of her lips, how she envied her bangs because _my forehead’s too large for bangs but she’s perfect, Sasuke…_

“why are you telling me all of this?” he had raised an eyebrow at all of it. they were best friends, but Sakura always hesitated when telling him about her romantic feelings for anyone. he figured that she didn’t see him as the type to understand any of her emotions.

there had even been a time where Sakura had liked him. now, of course, she had learned that he was an impassive asshole who liked tomatoes too much. (that wasn’t the only thing he was sure that she had learned, but most things between them went unspoken.)

Sakura scoffed. “you never know, Sasuke. maybe you’re in love with me! I never know what’s going on in that big head of yours.” she poked him in the forehead, like Itachi had always done. it was a gesture of fondness, an indication of an unspoken promise.

the girl with no aspirations, other than to live. she had nothing else to yearn for, she could taste the sky, but she did not want to reach for the stars. she was born from power and control, she had the gift of manipulation at the tender age of twelve. there was nothing else that she knew to want.

the girl who wanted the world. the girl that was a dream, hazy and warm. she was given the world. she wanted to be a firework, bright and explosive. a symbol for something more.

that was the Sakura he knew.

sitting there on his bed, he had wondered what his best friend thought of him. he had a vague idea of what others thought about him.

but he didn’t know what he thought of himself. he didn’t know others, he didn’t know himself. it was his way of life, his mantra that he repeated in his head whenever his mind wandered into unexplored territories that he would never be able to truly experience.

everyone expected it. for Sasuke to fall in love with Sakura. well, everyone except for themselves. why else would Sasuke allow Sakura to hang around him, to tell dumb jokes and get away with it, to sit next to him and point out errors in his schoolwork. to everyone else, it was young love, not yet fully blossomed.

Sasuke didn’t know why he was friends with Sakura. she felt like a sister to him. no, more. like they had been close, but distant in a past life of some sort. and he was making it up to her by being as decent as he could manage in this life.

he blinked at Sakura, not completely fazed at her statement. “what a tragic story we would be.” she laughed.

_she laughed she laughed she laughed_

 

it would be one of the last times he would hear such a natural, free expression of emotion for her, for a long, long time.

 


	2. we bear tasteless fruits (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the beginning has never been a concept Sasuke chose to believe in, and what burns the eyes is what burns the heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so i rewrote this twice and the plot kept changing in my mind but the naruto ending was :/ so it gave me motivation.
> 
>  
> 
>   i hope this is enjoyable! comments and kudos are very much appreciated!

_if the world was to end tomorrow, what would you do today?_

the question was written out sloppily on the whiteboard in red. there hadn’t been any explanation as to what to do, but essays like that had been becoming increasingly common. most of the essay topics were meant to bring out creativity in the students, to make them understand and utilize their talents. and although Sasuke wasn’t particularly known for his imagination, but he always scored well on his essays. it was easy for him to give a straightforward answer, and add some irreverent details in between.

Sasuke knew exactly how to answer this particular question, but that was the entirety of the conflict.

he had faintly written _“die”_ on the first line of the paper, too faint to see. he vaguely thought of how morbid and ridiculous it really was, but then dismissed the thought out of his head. his pencil had traced over it several times in his attempt to think of something else that wouldn’t force his teacher to send him to the counselor, even though his thought had no other meaning other than what it said.

_if the world was to end tomorrow,_ he thought, _there would be nothing for me to grieve over. there would be no real substance to the fear, the anticipation of the inevitable. there would be no reason for anything at that point. I would just die, like everyone else._

that was the truth. but he couldn’t write that, unfortunately.

it had rained that day, and it had still been raining every time Sasuke looked at the clock, watching the seconds pass. the sky was an almost unfamiliar blue, and the way the trees drooped and contrasted made the world seem like a picture. if only it was.

no, the sky wasn’t just unfamiliar. it was something from a dream. a place between mind and thought. composed of both, perhaps.

the rest of the classroom was buzzing, with their regular teacher absent and replaced with a substitute teacher who didn’t seem to care that no one was doing the assigned task. people were settled into their different sects, some slouching in their chairs and others sitting atop of the dark wooden desks and chatting cheerfully.

it was an ordinary scene, something that he would see whenever the teacher was out (or out of the room). it shouldn’t have felt so off. like the entire world has been shifted, but only by a bit. only so much that the only choices were to accept it and move on or to stick to the issue and lose his mind over such a minor change.

__

_there is constant change, there is not a single thing in the world that goes without change._

__

even so, he could not let this unease escape him. no, he was trying to force this unease from his body. but it dodged all of his defenses, and stood in the middle. _the middle of_ _where?_ the middle of his thoughts, the center of everything. it was a strange physical sensation as well, in a place in his brain, but he couldn’t pinpoint where. but it was in the center.

for once, it was strangely silent in his head. not even the static of the silence remained. it contrasted greatly with his surroundings, apart from three people.

it didn’t surprise him.

Sakura was slumped in her seat, switching between staring at the ceiling and the board. her cheekbones seemed more prominent, and her skin paler, having almost a greenish tint to it, from the angle Sasuke saw her. she wasn’t very beautiful, but no one cared. no one ever cared.

Hinata sat behind her, a hand hesitating to touch her shoulder. the noise and movement around them didn’t seem to affect either of the two.

she pulled her hand away, clenching it for a moment, her face masked by her hair. it was long. Sasuke can’t remember when it got that long, but he can’t remember many things. Hinata looked at the back of Sakura’s head, and he could tell that she was wishing that Sakura would turn around and talk to her, like she used to. he almost laughed. nothing was like it used to be, and it was all his fault. but no one would blame him.

no one would blame the boy with dead parents. no one would blame the boy who was overshadowed by an older sibling who was simply unmatched in the world where it mattered. blame was thrown out of the window, replaced with pity and soft voices, hands on his back and soft eyes that all made him sick. he didn’t want this. he didn’t need this.

he needed someone to scream at him, at the top of their lungs so he could finally have a reason to stop crying, to scream back and let the anger that he felt in every part of his being just go away. he wanted everything to just go away. to burn and become ashes like his mother and father.

but that was never going to happen. _why not?_ he would never let it happen.

he sighed, letting himself let go of the anger momentarily. it wasn’t as if it would disappear. it would simply just go into another place in his mind, making his heart beat a little faster and force him to take a deep breath.

he placed his pencil on the desk and looked up at the clock located over the door. fifty minutes of class left. he figured that he would end up writing a page about how if the world he knew was to suddenly to come to a close, he would spend it with close family and friends. he was sure that that was what everyone else was writing. it was only natural to want to die with familiarity and a sense of belonging.

he didn’t have a family, in actuality. Itachi was as close to being his family as any stranger was. he didn’t have friends. he had Sakura, and now where was she? in a constant state of half-consciousness, a haze that blocked out the world that she had once longed so desperately to belong to. Hinata was a kind girl, much too kind for what she had been bred for. she stayed close to Sakura, making sure she got to school on time and that she maintained her grades. but, she couldn’t stop Sakura from doing _this_ , whatever she was doing. she couldn’t stop Sakura from pushing the people closest to her away.

Hinata was too nice for the world she lived in, that was very much true. but she was strong enough to hold her place. after all, it was only expected of her.

it was expected of all of them. to hold on and wait. to lie down at night, knowing that they were cold in a way that they did not understand and that they knew nothing of the world they were soon to be involved in. it was a strange existence. not knowing the worries of the world, but fearing what little they did know.

he started writing, his pencil just bearing down heavily on the paper, the words not quite making sense. he didn’t care.

he looked to the window, the sun brighter than it would be even in the middle of the afternoon. it made him feel naked, as if the sunlight that touched his skin burned through him. time didn’t seem to pass by fast enough. the constant chatter, the noise and movement making his world go slower, almost separate from everything else.

it was a ridiculous thought, how could he physically be away from that moment, when he was _right there._

_it was a day like any other_. he kept repeating it in his head, past tense, so everything could pass by quickly. he needed this to be over, he needed to be somewhere else.

 **  
**wherever that was, he didn’t know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well that went quickly!!


End file.
